


it's you babe (i'm a sucker for the way you move, babe)

by teamfreeawesome



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Mush, Mutual Pining, Road Trips, Romance, Rule 63, Sharing a Bed, Women in the NHL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-11 11:30:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16474721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamfreeawesome/pseuds/teamfreeawesome
Summary: “Let’s go on a road trip,” Zach says just before the off-season.





	it's you babe (i'm a sucker for the way you move, babe)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gravityinglass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gravityinglass/gifts).



> Hi gravityinglass! I am apparently terrible at following prompts, but I saw that you liked the idea of queer ladies loving queer ladies. Hopefully this falls under that category, and you enjoy this! It's mostly just fluff (and I'm choosing to ignore the whole William-Nylander-contract-nonsense haha). 
> 
> Title taken from 'Never Be the Same' by Camila Cabello. 
> 
> Thanks to E for the beta! You're an absolute babe <3 
> 
> Disclaimer: no harm was intended by the writing of this. i don't, in any way, equate these fictional characters to their real-life counterparts.

Willy isn’t sure how this habit started. It’s terrible for _both_ their sleeping patterns, and a ridiculous situation on top of that. They live close enough to each other that Zach could just stay over, but –

They talk on the phone all the time.

“I should go,” Willy says, but –

She doesn’t want to. The time she gets with Zach never seems to be enough. She wants to go to sleep with the sound of Zach’s voice in her ear. To curl up under the covers and imagine that Zach is there with her. That Zach isn’t at her own house, in her own bed, but in Willy’s room, her nose pressed to Willy’s, sharing Willy’s breath.

Sometimes, she worries that the way she feels about Zach is too much. Too large to contain. It feels overwhelming, like she’s swelling with how much she feels. How much she can’t stop thinking about Zach. She just –

She can’t stop thinking about Zach’s hands. About her smile, and the way she looks when she smiles. Can’t stop thinking about the way she looks during a game. About her arms. The stretch of her shoulders. Her eyes.

“You don’t have to,” Zach says, her voice tinny over the phone. “I’m okay to keep talking. But, if you’re tired -”

“I am,” Willy says. “But I’m also really awake. I don’t want to stop talking to you. Maybe,” she pauses; looks at her alarm clock, the red numbers accusing in the dark. “Another half an hour?”

“Sure,” Zach murmurs, and it’s –

Her voice is so warm, and there’s this moment where Willy feels lost. Like her whole body is weak for Zach. Like one second of Zach’s attention is enough to turn Willy to putty. Willy thinks that, if Zach wanted to, she could break her heart. She knows all of Willy’s secrets; she has all of Willy, soft and open, and if she wanted to, she could –

“I miss you,” Willy says, and it hurts when it surfaces. “I know I saw you yesterday, but I miss you.”

“Yeah,” Zach whispers. “I miss you, too.”

 

//

 

Summer is always strange. The distance makes it strange. Willy will be at the grocery store, or working out, and it’s like –

She’ll get flashes of her conversations with Zach, and she’ll feel so out of place that it aches. She’ll think about the way Zach’s mouth looks when she smiles, and her hands fumble on the milk or the weights as her heart thumps painfully in her chest.

“I miss you,” Zach whispers in her head, and Willy can’t stop the way it repeats. _I miss you I miss you I miss you_ , bouncing around her brain, and Willy can feel it in her limbs. In her mouth. Behind her eyes.

 

//

 

Her feelings for Zach –

They were a slow-building thing that snuck up on her. She remembers it as –

Zach, sweaty and post-win. She’d been grinning, glowing almost. Her hair was sticking up all over the place, the skin under her eyes sleep-bruised, and Willy had taken a breath. Drawn the air in, felt the way it reverberated around her chest, and thought _oh_.

She’d barely even spoken to Zach twice at this point.

“How can I like her this much?” Willy had asked Mitch, head in Mitch’s lap as Mitch played with her hair. “When I don’t even know her?”

Mitch’s face had scrunched up, and she’d shaken her head. Tugged at Willy’s hair gently.

“I don’t know,” she had said. “Sometimes… sometimes, you make a connection with someone, and there’s – you can’t explain it. Only you know how you feel, and if you like her – if you’re invested this early, then that’s how you feel. You’re _allowed_ to feel like that.”

“I don’t -” Willy had started. Closed her eyes. “I don’t know what I want.”

“Hey,” Mitch had said. “That’s okay too. You don’t have to know.”

“I know,” Willy had said. “But I wish I did.”

 

//

 

The thing about Zach is –

She’s a force to be reckoned with. A gorgeous, sharp and funny force to be reckoned with. She knows exactly how to get under Willy’s skin. One smile from her is enough to make Willy’s heart pound.

“Get coffee with me,” is all she has to say, the soft, friendly brush of her hand against Willy’s enough to make her stomach quiver.

She’s –

It’s not that Willy hasn’t had crushes before. She’s _loved_ people before. It’s just –

When she met Zach, it was different. She doesn’t know how to talk about it without it sounding like a cliché, but it was like her body – her _soul_ – recognised something in Zach that felt like home. Zach opens her up. Helps her unfurl. Encourages Willy’s walls to fall; to let Zach in. Willy’s never felt like this about anyone before.

“Let’s go on a road trip,” Zach says just before the off-season, still in Toronto and adamant that they need to spend some time together over the summer. “It’ll be awesome. Just you and me,” she continues, and –

Willy thinks about how she wants the road trip to go. Thinks about the way she wants to drive down the freeway with her hand tucked in Zach’s. Thinks about the beach and Zach, and how she’d like to kiss Zach in the sand, her hands in Zach’s hair and their salt-slick bodies warm against each other. Thinks about –

How it might feel to be underneath Zach as she smiles down at Willy, her eyes crinkling and her skin soft against Willy’s. How it might feel to have Zach’s hands on her waist; on her body.

So, she says yes.

 

//

 

(Willy remembers kissing a girl for the first time, and it was –  

It was a _revelation_.

Her name was Hanna, and Willy –

Hanna was – fuck, she had the nicest smile, and these _hands_. Her fingernails were always bitten down to the quick, and she used to squeeze Willy’s shoulder reassuringly after a hard loss. In Willy’s memories, it seems like Hanna was always laughing. Her face was so open, and her smile used to make Willy’s belly flutter. She was –

Willy remembers being almost desperate for Hanna’s attention. Remembers the anticipation; the feeling of the locker room when Hanna was in it, and the way Willy used to deliberately take too long after a game, just so she could eke out a few extra minutes with her. Remembers –

Remembers the heat of Hanna’s body as she stood in front of Willy. She was so tall. Taller than Willy, and close enough that Willy could have counted her eyelashes. Her hand had come up to cradle Zach’s face, her fingers sliding into Zach’s hair, and she’d –

She’d leaned in so slowly. Willy’s blood had been rushing so loudly in her ears, her stomach squirming and her palms sweating. Willy just remembers how close Hanna’s face had been. The way her eyes looked. The way Willy had felt so _seen_. Remembers the soft dimple in Hanna’s left cheek, and then –

It was soft and warm, and –

It’s funny, because books had always described a first kiss like sparks. Like lightning under the skin, burning the body up from inside with the passion of it, but for Willy –

It was happiness. There was something warm and soft moving slowly under her skin. Her face was cradled in Hanna’s hands, Willy’s fingers digging into the skin of Hanna’s hips, and it was so, so good.

She didn’t bother with boys after that).

 

//

 

Mitch turns up at Willy’s on a Sunday morning, pushing her way into Willy’s kitchen proprietarily. When Willy catches up with her, she’s sat on a barstool, her feet swinging happily as she sips from Willy’s coffee.

“Mitch,” Willy sniffs. “That was mine.”

“You know I don’t know how to use your coffee machine,” Mitch grins.

“Don’t know or can’t be bothered to work it out?” Willy laughs, but starts a new pot going anyway.

“You went on a date last week, right?” Mitch asks, as soon as Willy has coffee in her hands. “How did it go? They seemed nice, from what you said before.”

She picks up an apple from Willy’s fruit bowl and bites into it with an obnoxious crunch. Honestly, Willy has no idea why they’re friends.

“It was okay,” Willy shrugs. “They were nice. I just couldn’t see us being compatible for something more long term.”

“I mean,” Mitch says, pausing for a second to lick a line of apple juice off her wrist. “If that’s what you’re looking for, then okay. Something long term, right? I could set you up. I know some chill people.”

“I’m good,” Willy says.

“You could just ask Zach out, you know. She’s pretty likely to say yes. You’re like, really hot and also super good at hockey, so.”

“Hmm,” Willy hums.

“You don’t believe me,” Mitch says, tossing the apple core in the trash. “That’s okay. You will one day. My self-esteem-boosting powers are legendary. In my opinion, at least.”

“I believe _that_ ,” Willy says, laughing, before enticing Mitch into the living room with the promise of old Bake-Off episodes.

 

//

 

(She’s back in Europe for the summer and saying goodbye to a girl. She’s standing at the train station, and –

The girl kisses her. Cradles Willy’s cheek in her palm and leans in. Presses the softest kiss to Willy’s mouth. Drags her hand down the bare skin of Willy’s forearm and tangles her fingers with Willy’s. Pulls away, and –

Gets on a train –

Willy is left with the impression of her mouth and an empty feeling in her chest).

 

//

 

Three days into the road trip, and Willy feels happy. The kind of happy that swells like the ocean under her skin. Her feet are on the dashboard and there’s sunlight everywhere. It’s filling the car, shining in through the windows and reflecting off the metal. Zach keeps laughing, soft and carefree, her hands confident on the wheel. The windows are down, air rushing through the car, and Willy can’t stop staring. Zach looks like something from a sepia-toned home-movie, soft around the edges and so fucking happy.

Willy just –

She can’t stop looking. Looking at Willy. At the sprinkle of freckles across Zach’s shoulders, and the way she looks when she’s relaxed. The way she looks when the wind is blowing through her hair, the sun warm on her skin. The way she looks when there’s nothing but the road ahead of them. Nothing but the _future_ ahead of them.

It feels like they’ve left hockey in the dust. Left the losses in the dust. For this moment, it’s just Zach and Willy and the roar of the engine under their seats. It’s just dust and dirt and the smell of petrol in the air. Just sunshine and sweat, and the feel of hot leather under their thighs.

“What?” Zach asks, glancing at Willy. She’s grinning. “What’re you looking at?”

Willy smiles, fondness swelling under her skin.

“Nothing,” she says. Wriggles her toes on the dashboard. “I’m just happy.”

“Uh-huh,” Zach says, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t believe you. Have I got something on my face? Is that what it is?”

“Mm,” Willy hums.

“I _do_? You asshole. Why didn’t you tell me? What is it? Is it barbeque sauce?”

Willy laughs, and it feels like it’s surfacing from warm-happy pit in her belly.

“I wasn’t sure how to tell you, babe. You’ve got some -”

“Some _what_?”

“There’s like… a bird’s nest on your head, babe.”

“I -” Zach starts, before she starts to laugh. “Fuck you. It’s not a bird’s nest. It’s a stylish style choice, actually.”

“A stylish style choice?”

“Yeah,” Zach says, eyes crinkling up at the corners. “And you should stop insulting the driver. If you’re not careful I’ll leave you on the side of the road.”

Willy gasps, clutching dramatically at her chest.

“ _Zach_. You’d do that to me?”

“Don’t act so shocked,” Zach grins. “I’m ruthless. Stone cold.”

Willy snorts.

“You’re a little bit mean,” she agrees. “But mostly marshmallow under that. I’m not worried.”

“Only a little bit mean?” Zach asks. She makes a rude noise as a Ferrari tries to undertake them, almost taking the wingmirror with it as it goes. “I’m clearly ferocious.”

“I take it back,” Willy says. “You’re dangerous and ruthless. Could you let me out here, please?”

Zach grins at her, winks, and suddenly they’re laughing, Zach’s hair shining in the sunlight.

 

//

 

They stop at a motel.

It’s a shitty one just off the highway, but Willy is utterly delighted by the whole thing. There’s only one double-room free, but Willy just grabs the keys with barely contained glee, dragging Zach behind her to find their room.

“I’ve never stayed in a _motel_ before,” she says. “It’s exciting.”

“If you say so,” Zach says.

“I do,” she says.

She’s tired enough that she just dumps her bag in the corner and falls face forwards onto the bed.

“Zach,” she says into the sheets. “Will you take my shoes off for me? I don’t think I can get up again now I’m in bed.”

Zach laughs softly. Her hands unlace Willy’s shoes and slip them off, her fingers warm on Zach’s ankles as she tugs gently. There’s a thump as she throws them across the room, and then the bed dips as she slides in next to Willy.

“Hey,” Zach says.

“Hey,” Willy murmurs, her eyes fluttering shut.

She shifts, turning over, and Zach tugs at her until she’s pressed up against Zach’s front. It’s nice. The air smells like clean sheets and summer sweat, and her skin feels tacky with a day of dried perspiration. Zach is so warm at Willy’s back, and her breath is tickling the back of Willy’s neck.

“Are you sleeping already?” Zach asks, pressing the softest of kisses to Willy’s shoulder.

“Mm,” Willy hums.

The room is dim, the light from the motel sign seeping in through the blinds. The air conditioning unit is loud, and Willy zones out with the hum, feeling sun-scoured and exhausted. They’ve spent a whole day sun-soaked and laughing, and now even the soft sweep of the air conditioning feels like a caress. Around them, the air feels taut with a gentle kind of tension, strung between them like a soft tug of anticipation. It feels caught on Willy’s ribs, and as she breathes, the air ripples with _maybe_.

Willy knows that if she turns over –

If she rolls through the treacle of nerves and uncertainty that’s keeping her stuck, then –

The air is so still. It’s just her and Zach in this bed, their bodies pressed together. Just her and Zach, and Willy thinks she might be more aware of Zach’s body than her own. It feels like if she breathes too loud, Zach might blow away. Like if she turns over, Zach might not be there anymore.

“Zach,” Willy whispers.

She can barely even hear herself, but she can’t stand the idea of breaking the silence with something louder.

“Yeah?” Zach mumbles, the bed shifting as she wriggles even closer. “You okay?”

Willy sucks in a breath. Waits to feel brave enough. Turns over slowly. Zach’s eyelids are drooping heavily, her mouth red and soft looking. Willy can feel her breath on her skin. She looks at the long stretch of her; looks at Zach’s hair, and the way it looks like a small bird could make a nest in it. Looks at Zach’s hands. At her eyelashes.

“I like you,” she says.

“Mm,” Zach hums into her pillow. “I like you too.”

“No,” Willy whispers, poking at Zach’s shoulder. “Zach. I _like_ you.”

Zach opens one eye, a smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

“Yeah,” she murmurs, reaching out to stroke Willy’s cheek with her thumb. “I like you too.”

“Yeah?” Willy breathes, something beginning to fizz gently under her skin. “You do?”

“Yeah,” Zach says. “How about we talk about it properly tomorrow, though?”

“Mm,” Willy hums, reaching out to tuck a strand of Zach’s hair behind her ear. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Zach smiles.

 

//

 

They hit the west coast early, mist still clinging to the tarmac as dawn breaks. The sun looks green through the trees, leaves flying past fast enough to look like a stretching blur of vegetation that goes on for miles. The air is loud with the sound of crickets, noisy even over the sound of the engine.

“Hey,” Zach says, her hands steady on the wheel. “I like you.”

“That’s good,” Willy says. “Because I like you too.”

Zach grins.

“Want to date me?”  

Willy laughs. She feels so warm. Happy.

“Yeah,” she says. “I’ve wanted to date you since I met you.”

“Really?” Zach asks.

“Really,” Willy says. “You can ask Mitch.”

She reaches out to poke Zach’s arm gently, her hands steady and sure.

“Mitch will probably laugh herself sick,” Zach says softly. Takes one hand off the wheel to catch Willy’s. Tangles their fingers together.  “I’ve only been talking about you since forever.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

 

//

 

The back-left tire blows as they’re driving down the freeway.  

“Fuck,” Willy says, pulling over as quickly as she can. “At least we’re pretty close to the city. I’ll grab the spare.”

Zach grins.

“I’ve got this.” She squeezes Willy’s hand. “I’m a tire-changing pro.”

Willy snorts but doesn’t complain when Zach takes charge of the process. She watches as Zach changes the tire, grease spreading up her arms as she messes around with the wheel. Willy finds herself leaning against the car, chewing on her lip as she watches Zach’s muscles work. Every so often a car zips past, rocking their car slightly from the speed. It’s so hot that there’s a haze above the ground, the air almost crackling with it. Everything feels tense and electric; like something needs to break or crack so the rain can come through. Willy’s just glad that there’s a little bit of a breeze, even if it does keep blowing Zach’s hair into her eyes.

“Babe,” Zach says, smearing grease all over her face as she pushes at her hair. “Gimme your hat. I can’t see shit like this.”

Willy grins. Pushes herself off the car, takes her snapback off and shakes her hair out. Steps into Zach’s space and presses a kiss to the corner of Zach’s mouth as she places the hat in Zach’s hand. This close, she can see the way that Zach’s hair is sticking to the back of her neck with sweat, the too-big tank sliding over her collarbones. She smells like sweat and heat, and Willy wants to lick the salt from her skin.

“Thanks,” Zach says.

Willy winks, her heart speeding up in her chest.

“You’re welcome,” she says, fishing her phone out of her back pocket. “Tell me when you’re done. I’m going to find a garage nearby. We won’t get far on a spare.”

 

//

 

The garage they end up at is busy. All the seats are taken, apart from a grubby looking armchair at the back of the room. It’s next to a table full of magazines, and Willy makes a beeline for it.

“The guy said it’d be about half an hour, so we might as well sit,” Willy says, pushing Zach gently towards the armchair.

“I’ll sit on the arm,” Zach says. “You look fucking shattered.”

Willy feels sun-scoured, and exhausted enough that she doesn’t bother arguing. Just sinks into the leather, her thighs tacky with dried sweat. Her shirt feels too thin, suddenly, for how cool the air conditioning has made the room, and there’s oil and grease over everything she’s wearing even though she didn’t even touch the wheel. Next to her, Zach perches carefully on the arm of the chair, and it’s –

It’s a lot. She’s pressed so close that Willy can feel the warmth coming off her. Her bare arm is so close to Willy’s face, and she smells like sunscreen and sweat. Willy desperately wants to lean in and kiss the soft skin of Zach’s bicep. To press her nose to the base of Zach’s throat. Her snapback looks ridiculous on Zach; on backwards and somehow the hottest thing Willy’s seen in a while. Zach’s eyelids are drooping, her hair sweat-damp, and Willy just wants so much. Wants unquantifiable things.

 

//

 

 

Zach’s skin is soft, the downy hairs covering her arms tickling against the pads of Willy’s fingertips. She strokes upwards softly, against the grain, and Zach shivers.

“I’m trying to sort the television out,” Zach says, laughing a little. “It won’t switch on.”

Willy looks down over Zach’s shoulder, her hips slotted against Zach’s ass as she cranes to see.

“We don’t need the television,” she says, gently tugging the remote from Zach’s grasp and chucking it behind them. “We’ve got all the entertainment we need.”

Zach makes a soft noise, and Willy grins into her shoulder.

“Do we now?” Zach asks, her voice dipping lower.

Willy nods, cheek brushing against Zach’s neck as she slides a hand up under Zach’s shirt. Tracing a line across Zach’s belly, Willy hums happily.

“That’s nice,” Zach says, letting her head fall back against Willy.

“Yeah?” Willy asks. She tugs at Zach’s shirt with her teeth, before releasing her to press a soft kiss to the back of Zach’s neck. “Maybe we should find the bed.”

“Maybe we should,” Zach hums.

“In a minute, though,” Willy says.

Thumb brushing against the skin of Zach’s bicep, Willy noses up the side of her neck, pressing soft, open-mouthed kisses against Zach’s pulse as she goes.

“ _Oh_ ,” Zach says, her mouth dropping open. “Fuck. I think we should find the bed now.”

Laughing, something warm clenching in her belly, Willy lets herself be tugged between the sheets.

 

//

 

They end the trip at the beach.

The sun is beating hot overhead, the waves rolling in and out, and Willy’s limbs go slack as the sun soaks into her skin. She’s got her backpack under her head, and the sky is so blue it looks painted on. Her eyelids keep drooping, blurring everything together until the clouds seem to blend into nothing.

She sits up when Zach arrives, dripping cool water over everything.

“Aren’t you going to swim?” Zach asks, shaking her hair out.

Willy snorts. Kicks at Zach’s ankle gently.

“I’m _sunbathing_. I’ll let you swim. I might even get us both an ice cream in a minute.”

Zach grins, winks, and heads back to the water. In the distance, there are yachts rocking gently. There’s the softest breeze, sweet-smelling and warm. The air tastes heavy with sea salt, and Willy knows she’s going to be washing sand out of her hair for weeks. The sand looks like it’s shimmering, and there’s Zach –

Willy can’t stop looking. She looks so happy, hair wet, feet dancing in and out of the water, laughing, and it’s a snapshot –

(Later, as dusk starts to pull in, Zach just looks soft. She’s wearing one of Willy’s sweaters, and the sleeves are too long. The neck is stretched, and it keeps slipping until one shoulder is just peeking out. Willy can’t stop watching the way Zach is watching the sunset, the sky turning slowly pink as the heat of the day slides away.

“Hey,” she says, bumping her shoulder against Zach’s companionably.

“Mm,” Zach hums, turning to look at her.

“You look beautiful.”

Zach blushes, and it mixes with the sunburn across the bridge of her nose. Laughing, she presses a kiss to Willy’s mouth. Her hair is salt-stiff and kind of crunchy under Willy’s hands, and her mouth tastes a little like sunscreen and ice cream, and she says –

She says –

“So do you.”)

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you feel this needs more tags.


End file.
